Chiropractic Email Marketing ( + FREE Templates)

Chiropractic Email: How you can improve your conversion, retention, and new patient flow!

Get Your FREE Email Template HERE

What do the most successful chiropractic practices in the world do every day to get more patients, build trust with new patients, and stimulate a crazy amount of reactivations from their database?

The answer is more simple than you probably expect…

…it’s email!

Email allows you to build trust, improve new patient compliance, and stimulate the reactivations that essential to sustainable and predictable practice growth.

The problem is that email programs are brutal to use. They are confusing, setting up automations takes forever, and getting the content right is tough.

I think it’s time for a change.

Join me for a this webinar where I am going to make email easy for chiropractors. Step by step I am going to break down email marketing for chiropractors, and show you exactly what you can do to get started and start getting results.

As someone who has sent hundreds of thousands of emails (including this one!) to both chiropractors and chiropractic patients, I’m going to take all everything I’ve learned an put it into an action-packed webinar designed to help you get the most out of email.

You know you need to be delivering messages every week to your inactive patients to stimulate consistent reactivations. I want to show you how to make it easy and I’ll even be giving away a few email templates to get started.

Learn more at www.ChiroEmails.com

Why is email so important?

Well, fill in the blank: Each week I generate patient re-activations by ____________________

If you answered anything but “reaching out to my inactive patients weekly with content that is valuable (to them), builds goodwill, and has a casual call-to-action,” then you are missing out.

Automated email is crucial for your practice to thrive in 2019 and beyond.

But very few chiropractors get started with automated email because the old software systems are complex, confusing, AND they don’t have any chiropractic specific content built in (sound familiar?)

What if there was a way to automate your lead generation, new patient onboarding, and patient re-activations?

There is…meet ChiroEmails.

The Real Problem

Streamlining and automating email follow-up is usually super tricky. The systems are hard to use, the learning curve is steep, and pretty much no one (except for us :) ) creates excellent content for chiropractors that inspires action by your community and patients.

How ChiroEmails Changes Everything.

ChiroEmail’s is the first automated chiropractic email marketing system build by chiropractors and for chiropractors. It has been developed to warm up your leads to help them convert, welcome you new patients by building trust and rapport, and re-activate your past patients by providing follow up sequence that is dripping (geeky pun: in the marketing world a follow-up series of emails is known as a drip sequence) with value to them.

It’s automated email marketing for smart chiropractors.

Now that you know a bit more about ChiroEmails, we’ve had an exclusive offer for you!

As a special thank you for being part to The Evidence Based Chiropractor, we are doing a limed early access period where we’re offering a special price of just $149.00/mo for the entire ChiroEmail’s system.

Get Your FREE Email Template HERE

Learn more at ChiroEmails

Why "leasing" a chiropractic website is a bad idea.

A leased website is one which you don't own the domain, the content, or the design. These types of websites typically require a monthly fee (for very little to no maintenance), over-estimate the cost of helping with SEO, and can limit your ability to expand your chiropractic marketing channels as your practice grows.

““What you don’t realize about the lease Web site and the actual copy that goes on the blog is that you don’t own that blog content. So if you ever leave that leased Web site, your ranking is very likely going to leave out with that company.””

— Matt Adams, Empirical 360

This week Matt Adams of Empirical 360 and I break down why having a "leased" chiropractic website is a bad idea for your practice.

Jeff- Hello, everybody what's going on. Jeff Langmaid here with Matt Adams from Empirical 360.

And today we're going to talk about leased Web sites. It's a big problem with chiropractic, and we're going to talk about why that matters to you. Also, some action steps that you can take to be more independent. And as you grow and scale your practice to do it in a way that works.

So we start right there Matt.

What is a leased website?

Matt- A leased website is a website that you will never own. So the payment is going to go on and on and on and on and on. As a chiropractor when you come out of chiropractic school you realize that you have to start your practice and you need to get into the marketplace and you need to have a website and you're looking mostly at kind of like a low-cost entry point because you don't want to invest so much straight from the jump.

And so these companies out there will give you templated, not a full custom site, at a low monthly payment. But you're mostly getting a template site. You're getting content, you're getting a copy, and you're going to have a web presence and but it's not going to cost you a whole lot to get started with.

Jeff- Let's dive into the content aspect of that a little bit because one area with search engine optimization is I have heard some of the companies "lease" their blog posts and "lease" what they what drives search engine optimization, and you can be held almost captive to that at a certain point in time. And what are some things that you've seen?

Why “Leasing” a chiropractic website is a bad idea.

Matt- The challenge is they will sell you these packages where you need to have block content for a local chiropractor if you're in Tampa market, for instance. They put out blog content like every other week or every month to push your local ranking forward. But what you don't realize about the leased Web site and the actual copy that goes onto the blog is that you don't own that blog content.

So if you ever leave that leased website, they retain ownership of all of that blog content which means they are the ones who actually "own" your search ranking. And that's the pitch for them when they start with you, "We're going to get you to rank number one in your local market. We're going to do that by giving you blog content every other week or every month, and you should start to see your ranking climb". However, if you ever decide to leave that company your ranking is very likely going to leave with that company. And whenever you migrate over to a new web presence because they own that copy.

Now there are some ways that you can get around it. Truthfully, if you've got a good web company that's coming in and trying to the right the ship for you, you can get into analytics and see what pages are getting traffic and odds are it's not the blog content.

Jeff- Companies that guarantee to get you to the top spot are sketchy. The only way I know to guarantee the top spot is to pay for it through advertising. To my knowledge, there is no other way. Now, there are factors regarding blogs, videos, keywords, etc. But the only way to guarantee the top spot is to pay to be there. Correct?

Matt- Sure. So pay per click is a functional way to get yourself to rank number one in Google organically and through paid advertisement as well. Think about this too with Google. So they realize that they make a ton of money off of the pay per click. That's probably about 90-95% of their revenue.

And now when you search for anything organically, the first four results that you see from that query are going to be paid advertisements. So even if you ranked number one organically guess what? You're still not going to be seen on that frame for your browser window because all those four advertisements are taking up that space. So you almost have to kind of double down. Here's the other thing about pay per click that's nice when it comes to SEO and search engine optimization.

Google favors conversions much better than blog content. So if somebody clicks on your advertisement and they complete a form, or they make a call, and you get a favorable version from that, and that shows Google you provided what the searchers were looking for and gave them an answer.

I don't want to diminish the value of blog content because it is good. From a brand standpoint, it's necessary, and it will help you rank over time. However, PPC can get you there quicker, and it can help you make money throughout that time as well. And I want to go back and hammer this point home when the web development company leases you a Web site, and they say that we're going to get you to rank number one through doing this blog content. They're not telling you what's accurate. They're saying we're going to get us to rank number one for you right now. And that's, and that's a huge point because again if you ever leave that company, you may be up a creek.

Jeff- So when we look at alternatives- what are some things either docs can keep an eye out for decisions that they can make to kind of help the process? I mean if there are so many challenges with this model which I think there are, what are some alternatives.

Matt- It's challenging. You know I look at it from a couple of standpoints. I think financially you see the appeal for a leased website is good because it gets you up and running relatively inexpensively in regards to front costs. But if you go to school for 8 years and you pay the tuition to become a chiropractor you probably want to practice for a long time. And leasing makes no sense if you intend on being in practice for the long term.

So when you're looking getting yourself a website make sure that you ask questions- Do I own the domain? Do I own the hosting for it? Do I own the copy if I'm paying you for SEO? Do I own that blog content if I ever decide to leave? And my thought is if you paid for it you should own it. If it's on your site, you should own it. So you want to make sure that you ask that kind of questions. Ownership of your web property goes a long way in terms of your scalability long term.

Jeff- Yeah and that's a key component I think it's nobody should be held captive to a web company. The goal should be to produce results and to be a good partner with somebody long term.

And ultimately if you are feeling held captive due to a service or marketing provider, then you should be looking for another provider.

So what are some alternative platforms? A lot of docs get concerned with a massive bill or a complicated process when custom building a website. What are some resources you think docs could or should look at?

Matt- You know to look into real web development agencies. And the other thing that I would say as well don't let an upfront cost deter you from consideration of building out your custom website. You do want to go with a vendor that has experience in this space so if you're looking at a web development company looking for something that's done chiropractic website before and has some examples.

Jeff- I think that's a great point. The last place I want to go is in reference to building, growing and scaling a practice. So one of the challenges that I've heard is that leased websites don't play nice with others. So for instance, somebody decides at a certain point that they want to grow and scale but exploring Google Adwords, etc. and many of these leased websites make it very difficult to work with any outside partners.

If you have the leased Web site find out who owns the property, who owns the domain, who owns the content if you decide to change. These are all essential things. And the other aspect of that that I think Matt just touched on was be sure that the back end is not locked up. The bottom line is they should be willing and able to work with other professional agencies to push your practice.

Matt- Right. Because it's all for the benefit of your practice. You're investing the money to this service provider so that people can go to see what you're all about. You're investing into this because you want to grow your practice and that's the bottom line.

The other things that I would say here is do that math if you consider $200 per month that never goes away. Over a year that $2,400 and over ten years is $24,000. So ideally, just like owning a house, you'd like to have a payment that you're making that goes away at some point in time or don't even have a payment all pay. A lot of agencies out there and us included will offer a reduced Web fee upfront if you pay up front for your Web site and then you're just free and clear.

And if you want to have that done for the year, you can do that as well. These are the long term considerations that you need to think about when you're getting into owning or having a Web site leasing versus owning.

Jeff- I think that's a very very important point. So if you have been leasing a Web site be sure to ask your website provider those two big questions- who owns the domain? Who owns the content?

Also if you are a doc out there looking to get into a pay per click advertising, I'd recommend checking out Empirical 360. They build fantastic landing pages. They've gotten into Web site builds because of the challenges that they've seen in the marketplace. And also check out The Smart Chiropractor to ensure for content. With The Smart Chiropractor, you own that content! Coming to a close, what are your closing thoughts on leased Web sites may be an action step that a doc can take?

Matt- I would call your service provider, and I would ask the questions. Who owns my rankings? You know who owns this blog content. If you want to see some pretty crazy stuff take one of your blog posts and drop the whole content into google to find out how many different places that, exact content exists out there on the internet. When I look at the landscape in chiropractic, and some of the handcuffed stories that I've heard just over the last couple of months, it sucks. It's not fun to be in trapped in an agreement with a website provider.

Jeff- That is an excellent point. For Matt Adams of Empirical 360, I'm Jeff Langmaid with The Evidence Based Chiropractor, and I hope you guys have a great day. Bye!

How to Get Your First 1K Instagram Followers- Chiropractic Edition

Instagram- a great place for pictures of food and selfies or a great place for business?

As a chiropractor, it's a GREAT place for business and building an audience of people who know, trust, and like you.

Today we're going to break down five things you can do starting today to get your first 1,000 followers on Instagram. We all know to be an influencer you need to be on Instagram. There are over a billion active users! So regardless of what demographic your targeting of your specific healthcare niche, Instagram is a place where you should be to build, connect, and ultimately grow your brand.

And there are five things that you can start implementing right now to get on your journey to that first 1,000 followers.

1. Consistency Wins

The first step is to post consistently. Consistency wins the game whether you are posting once a day, or even if you only have the time twice per week. Staying consistent with your post is a great way to start expanding your brand and expanding your message on Instagram.

2. Tagging People and Places

Your second step is to tag people and places. If you stop by a healthy restaurant; tag that restaurant! If you're hanging out with a colleague, be sure to tag that person! Tagging others can accomplish a couple of different things. First, if you tag a specific business or place it "geo-targets" your location which means people searching for that business or place will be able to see your post — more opportunities for exposure= more followers. So tagging the places you visit is crucial.

It not only helps people find you through research, but it is much more likely that those businesses are going to share your post/content across their platform which will further amplify your message and get more new eyes on your channel, your content, and your profile. So be sure to tag people and tag places.

3. Collaborations

Collaborations with influencers can really explode your follower count. Search out the popular people in your community and reach out for a collaboration. Perhaps it's a post that both you appear in. Maybe it's a story, or it could be just sharing content back and forth. And remember micro-influencers matter. You probably won't be collaborating with Jay-Z or Beyonce anytime soon- so but that doesn't mean it isn't worth it. Micro influencers in your community 5,000-20,000 followers will be happy to do collaborations with you because they are also trying to grow their audience and profile. So find collaborators do collaborative stories and host to help expand your message.

4. Engage With Others Content

Number four engage with other people's content. The more engaged you are on the platform, the more likely it is that people are going to notice you, recognize you, and follow your profile. So engage with other people's content. One way to do this is to find five hashtags that are relevant to your industry and add a comment onto the top 10 posts with that hashtag each day. Once you do that for 30 days, I can guarantee you boost your follower count and be "known" in that circle of influence.

You will become somebody that everybody recognizes by name, and in turn, you will have people coming back to your profile following you and engaging with your content. So take five to 10 minutes at the beginning or end of each day, search up you hashtags that are relevant to your business, your industry, your circle of influence comment and engage on that content.

5. Hashtags

Number 5 is hashtags. Hashtags are not dead; they are a great way to search out relevant content that you can contribute on and also for other people to find the content that you are putting out. So one best practice that I've seen lately is to create the first comment on your post and load it will up to 30 individual hashtags. You don't need to do 30 every single time, but if you choose appropriate hashtags, it helps amplify your message people will see your content and again more people will follow you.

Those five steps will help you get as quickly as possible to 1000 Instagram followers. It's how I've done it. It's how thousands of other people have done it. When you get started on Instagram, it can seem daunting to get the first 50 or first 100 but if you follow these five steps- post consistently, tag people and places, do collaborations with other influencers, engage with other people's content, and use hashtags; you will be well on your way, and you will be smashing a thousand Instagram followers before you know it.

Chiropractic Postcards- Are They Worth It?

Sending postcards may seem a bit old-school, but you shouldn't underestimate their effectiveness at driving new patients and re-activations.

Today we'll break down the three important types of postcards that you need for your chiropractic practice. Typically I talk a lot about social media and online marketing (because it's SUPER important) because it's the best way you can grow your practice quickly. But there is something to be said for the physical nature of mailing a postcard. And there are three postcard types I would recommend starting immediately which all have an extremely high return on investment.

Chiropractic Happy Birthday Postcards

So postcard type number one is the good old fashioned "Happy Birthday" postcard. We all know getting physical mail carries way more perceived importance than just an email. Think about it yourself. When it's your birthday, you open up the mailbox you'll see a card there. It makes you feel good! You should, of course also send a happy birthday email to your patient but sending a physical postcard at somebody's birthday has that little bit extra pizazz. It's a little bit special, it's a little bit over the top, and I think it delivers a very high return on investment through goodwill and caring.

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Chiropractic Reactivation Postcard Set

$15.00

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The second type of postcard you should be sending is a re-activation postcard. The goal of this postcard is to engage with your past patients, let them know you've been thinking about them and that you care.

Over time you will have an inactive patients list in the hundreds, if not thousands. Sending a physical postcard and reminder of your practice thorugh direct mail is a compelling way to stimulate re-activations. Incidentally, you should also be sending these reminders consistently through email, but mixing in a physical postcard every few months is a great way to deepen your relationship and add another touch point.

A reminder that you exist is an excellent opportunity for your in-active patients to pick up the phone and call your office. How many patients leave your practice happy and healthy? Probably more than 90%. So think about it, you have a plethora of "fans' of your practice out there in your community. Don't hesitate to remind them with a physical postcard that you are part of their healthcare team and you are ready to help when they need you.

Chiropractic Holiday Postcard Set

$15.00

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The third type of postcard you should consider is a holiday card. Around the New Year is a great time to send a physical piece of mail to your patients and let them know you are thinking of them. Pro-tip- the timing of your holiday card can vary. If you are looking for a boost in the new year, then it may be beneficial to wait until after the 1st to send. If you are looking for a little practice uptick before the close of the year (and as your patients are looking at their deductibles) then sending the holiday card towards the beginning of December may be a better idea. It's up to you!

These three postcards will give you touch point practically every quarter with your patients.

I'd encourage you to explore sending postcards in 2019. Test it. See what kind of return on investment you can get. I think you'll be happily surprised with the results.

Chiropractic Salary: How much money can you make as a chiropractor?

In this article we will look at the good, the bad, the ugly and even one avenue you may not have thought of that has been shown to generate up to 10% MORE revenue for your practice.

When we talk about chiropractic salaries, it's important to keep in mind that over 70% of the chiropractic profession are "sole proprietors." So it's not an actual salary that is taken. Most chiropractors take home whatever money is left after expenses. This equation is (top line revenue- expenses = take home pay) That take-home pay is what many chiropractors call their salary, even though by textbook definition it might not be an actual salary.

Chiropractic salaries- how much can you expect to make if you are a doc?

Total Revenue - Total Expenses = Most Chiropractors Take Home Pay (aka- salary)

So what does all that jargon mean?

Well, number one it says if you are not taking an actual salary. Think of an accountant at a grocery store. Their salary may be $65,000 per year, paid every two weeks. This amount stays the same every two weeks, regardless of if they took a vacation, or if the company made or lost money over those two weeks. A salary is defined as a fixed amount of pay over a certain amount of time.

So, you can probably already start to see that for many chiropractors there can be fluctuation. If you are taking home the amount of between the top line revenue and expenses, it can be variable from year to year, month to month, or even week to week. So unlike our accountant with a fixed salary in a corporation that might be $65,000 with a two percent raise each year; as a chiropractor to have the opportunity to make a lot more money OR a lot less money. So understanding the salary for many chiropractors is continually changing is critical to know as we start to look at the numbers.

via GIPHY

Now let's start at the bottom of the barrel. What the research has shown is that the bottom 10% of a chiropractor's salary is around $30,000 per year. Not exactly a good return on investment for eight years of schooling and upwards of $200,000 in debt.

So that is important to keep in mind with your planning. As a new chiropractor, it's unlikely you are going to be out purchasing your first sports car when you start your practice. As a new doc, unless you are bringing a big audience, a unique skill set, or you have found a fantastic opportunity, the starting point for your salary is often going to be quite low. The good news is that chiropractic salaries tend to rise the longer you are in practice. So while the first few years can be very tough, often there is light at the end of the tunnel!

As we get up towards the middle of the curve, we see two different sets of numbers emerge. Chiropractic Economics runs an annual, and the self-reported median salary is right around $100,000. However, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics pegs the middle closer to $80,000.

So the question is when self-reporting are a lot of chiropractors inflating their salaries? Or is it maybe just an incomplete data set?

Either way, it seems as though $80,000-100,000 is a good median point for a chiropractic income or salary. Now interestingly, as I mentioned earlier the data shows that salaries tend to increase as time goes on. So the longer you are around your community, the more that you have built a brand, and the more past patients you've seen, the more money you will statistically make.

via GIPHY

At the highest end, there is not a salary cap. In many cities, there are practices where the chiropractic owner can take home over $1,000,000 per year. Typically these practices have incorporated associate doctors across multiple locations that help grow the revenue.

And finally, the data has shown retail services can increase your top line revenue by 10% or more. This could consist of DME (durable medical equipment), nutritional supplements, pillows, and more.

More recently this type of "retail" has expanded into group coaching, clinic-gym hybrids, cross-fit classes, and other services. These new service lines have the opportunity to sit in the perfect sweet spot- lucrative for the provider and extremely beneficial for the patients.

So there you have it. Feel free to comment down below with any questions that you may have!